


Symphonia

by MidoriKurenaiYume



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, Developing Relationship, Dialogue, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family, Marriage Proposal, Slice of Life, Slow Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 21:11:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11216361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: Gilgamesh has a lot of work, therefore he is forced to put his young son Enkidu in day-care. Arturia works at said day-care.





	Symphonia

**Author's Note:**

> Modern setting. No warnings aside from a little OOC-ness... Irisviel in particular is probably more air-headed than usual, but only slightly. :)
> 
> Title: from a Kalafina song that kind of grew on me (part of the album 'After Eden') :P Credits to the canta-per-me forum site for the lyrics' translation, which are used to divide the story in sections ;)  
> Also thank you to HiddenCamellia for patiently listening as I talked about my ideas for this fic :P

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Let me hear a tale from a long time ago~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Irisviel felt helpless. None of the children at the day-care had ever proved to be as difficult as this one.

Enkidu was a strange child; he wasn’t rude towards anyone, but he was very stubborn and, finding himself bored with the simple children's games that were around, had easily climbed on top of the giant stuffed bear in one corner and was refusing to come down.

No attempt at bribery had worked; offers of sweets, requests from other children, stern orders, nothing had made the young toddler do anything but glare at them. He clearly wanted to be on his own, and the large toy in one corner of the room provided him with the isolation he sought.

But that wasn’t good to promote children’s collaboration in all their undertakings; Enkidu needed to take part in the activities like everyone else.

Yet how could Irisviel manage to make the child come down?

Arturia was her last hope. Determined, the white-haired woman swiftly walked towards her blonde employee.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~In my heart there’s a yearning like a radiant firework~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

“Are you going to stay there the whole day?” a female voice asked him.

Enkidu didn’t even look in her direction to see who it was.

“Yes,” he stubbornly stated. “I will wait for my Papa.”

He still didn’t tear his eyes away from the wall; after all, it was probably one of the pale, kind but boring white-haired women. Only one of them, Iri or something, was genuine; the others were too fake in everything they said and did.

As the person wasn’t leaving him alone, he finally let his gaze land on her, and his eyes widened slightly. This woman was blonde like Papa, and she was staring straight at him, no reproach, no coercion, no condescension in her features.

“I’m Arturia. What’s your name?” she asked, politely.

Enkidu hesitated, but he had learned that if a person who didn’t appear to be a threat told him their name, then it was only fair he did the same.

“Enkidu,” he finally acknowledged, eyeing her critically.

She merely nodded, and then asked him, very bluntly, “Enkidu, why are you refusing to come down from there?”

Enkidu was perplexed about her reasons for asking him for an explanation instead of ordering him around, and found himself replying to her without meaning to.

“Because there is nothing interesting to do down there,” he truthfully answered.

The woman named Arturia looked slightly amused, her expression something that caught Enkidu’s interest because it wasn’t exaggerated or fake like the other adults, and at the same time it wasn’t openly displayed, but just hinted at.

“I’ve seen that you don’t like toy blocks,” she told him, referring to the scattered pieces he had disdainfully pushed aside before climbing on the bear. “But they are not the only kind of toys we have. It requires the skill of an observant mind to climb this bear, and most children need several weeks of tries to do so. Therefore, why don’t you come and try the puzzle games?”

Enkidu actually considered her words. She seemed genuine; she didn’t seem to be lying to him. After all, even if she _were_ lying, he could always climb up again. He might as well give her a chance.

Swiftly, he found the easiest way to climb down without difficulty and landed oddly gracefully in front of her. To his surprise, she knelt next to him, so that they could see each other’s faces better.

He now recalled having noticed her earlier as well, and he was struck by the difference between her and the other caretakers.

The other ones were usually all smiles, sometimes odiously fake ones, and _always_ felt the need to plaster that sickening expression on their faces. This one, instead, didn’t smile. In fact, he couldn’t remember having seen her smile, and it was obvious that she seemed to have sternness as a natural feature on herself.

However, and Enkidu was surprised again, there was something unaffectedly _gentle_ in her eyes.

Therefore, when she extended her hand to him, he took it without hesitating.

…

…~oOo~…

…

A few months later

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~I’m advancing on the invitation of doubt and hesitation~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Gilgamesh opened the doors of the day-care swiftly, rushing past them. He was late, those mongrels at work having kept him occupied much longer than usual, and now all he wanted was spend the evening with his son.

Upon entering the room, he spotted Enkidu immediately – as he was the only child left – but he halted when he saw that he was _crying_.

A woman, one of the caretakers, was holding his son in her arms, and Enkidu was weeping loudly, appearing to be struggling as he was pulling at her clothes.

Gilgamesh saw red.

He didn’t think, he didn’t care about anything else: his son’s wellbeing came before anything else – his Enkidu was _crying_ , and this woman, whomever she was, would _pay_ for making his son cry.

Taking a few quick step forward, he immediately lifted him from her arms and got him safely into his hold, before investing the woman with the full force of his glare.

It took them both a moment to realize what had happened, but Enkidu’s expression turned into a happy smile at seeing his father, while the woman, to Gilgamesh’s growing fury, didn’t seem apologetic in the least and instead had the gall to nod at him.

“Good evening. Enkidu was looking forward to your arrival,” she informed him calmly. “Since it was getting late–”

“Shut _up_ ,” Gilgamesh hissed darkly, and both Enkidu – who was smiling at him – and the woman froze at his dangerous tone. “What do you _think_ you are doing to my son, woman!?”

Taken aback, her eyes widened in shock, but he was too furious to care about her reaction, even if he usually enjoyed witnessing how people dealt with his onslaught of anger.

His tone became lower, but it only served to add more menace to his cutting words.

“My son was _crying_ when I arrived here. What were you doing? What did you _dare_ do? You are not qualified to take care of him, and you had better be prepared to face the consequences of what I just witnessed, for I assure you, they won’t be pleasant.”

He didn’t give her the time to do or say anything, too furious to wait another second; he turned around and swiftly walked out of the building, holding his son securely, rage still pulsing through him.

What had made him choose this day-care? They were obviously incapable of being decent with children. And what had they _done_ to Enkidu…!

Finally focusing on his son, Gilgamesh was surprised at seeing Enkidu staring at him in wary curiosity. The green-haired boy was never afraid of him when he got angry; he had simply learned very quickly that his father could have his unapproachable moments.

But this time, Enkidu was the first to break the silence.

“Why were you angry at Arturia, Papa?”

So, it appeared that that woman’s name was Arturia. Not that it actually mattered.

Gilgamesh glared again.

“She made you cry, Enkidu. _No one_ has the right to make you cry, remember that.”

It was important that his son understood such a thing. Even if Enkidu was usually of a rather cheerful and open disposition, he had to learn right away that many inferior people did not deserve any consideration and, if they ever dared cross the line, they had to be reminded of their place.

However, Enkidu looked positively confused, protesting, “But Arturia didn’t make me cry, Papa! She was… she was…” he struggled to find the right word, “ _helping_ me stop crying!”

Gilgamesh stared at his son. Enkidu was not a liar, and he was usually accurate in his descriptions. Did that mean that that woman had been _soothing_ him?

Slowly, starting to realize that he might have missed some pieces of the puzzle, the blond man questioned, “Enkidu, why were you crying?”

His son’s lower lip trembled slightly, but he resolutely looked up into his eyes.

“I thought you had forgotten me.”

Gilgamesh was unable to reply immediately, knowing exactly why Enkidu feared that. His biological parents, Enlil and Ishtar, had always neglected him and left him in Gilgamesh’s care as often as possible. Enkidu had always wished for them to change attitude, but their death in a car crash – when they had both been under the influence of alcohol – had extinguished all hope for that to happen.

It was with extreme reluctance that Gilgamesh had started to leave his adopted son at the day-care, but he had had no choice if he meant to get any work done. He had however never been late in picking him up before.

“Never,” he finally replied, his voice slightly stiff. “I will _never_ forget you.”

Enkidu snuggled more firmly into his embrace, content, but the comforting moment didn’t last long because then he turned his head to face his father again, a worried expression on his face.

“And Arturia? I couldn’t say goodbye to her…”

Gilgamesh held himself back from frowning. His son seemed rather attached to the particular caretaker he had addressed when he had misunderstood what was happening, and such a thing would not do.

But it was undeniably true that their manner of leaving had been quite brusque.

Well, fine. Maybe he had actually jumped to conclusions a little too fast earlier, but he had lost it when he had seen his son weeping. And he had gone as far as threatening that woman, who had instead been comforting Enkidu.

How he hated now finding himself in the ridiculous position of having to _apologize_.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~I’d take the hand of time towards the still unseen tomorrow~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Arturia didn’t see Enkidu’s father for a few days, since she wasn’t often on shift in the morning at the day-care and that was when the parents usually dropped off their children.

The boy didn’t behave any differently than usual though, therefore she assumed his arrogant father had probably realized that he had jumped to the worst possible conclusion about the situation he had witnessed and he was going to apologize for his rudeness sooner or later. Even if he had been outrageously offensive, Arturia endeavoured to give him the benefit of the doubt: he had, after all, been unmistakably worried about his son.

However, when she did meet him again, he didn’t apologize.

Very curtly, he merely deigned to say, “I had misunderstood the situation the other day. As long as nothing happens to my son, you will not suffer any consequences.”

His contemptuous crimson eyes stared her down, fully expecting her to bow and accept things as they were – but Arturia wasn’t going to stand for that.

Enkidu was sleeping, since this man – Gilgamesh, as she had found out from the register – had come much earlier than usual to pick him up; in fact, he had come during the afternoon nap, and all the children were asleep, or at least, on their way to be so.

She observed the man in front of her keenly. Almost nothing in him resembled Enkidu: perhaps the form of the nose, she mused, but otherwise, they couldn’t be more different. Gilgamesh was tall and lean, with sharp features that she supposed were rather handsome, gleaming crimson eyes and blond hair. His manners were never vulgar, but they were most certainly conceited and disdainful, and while Enkidu had nothing of his rudeness, they had the exact same kind of stubbornness. And this man, while undoubtedly very fond of his son – she had not been able to miss the astonishingly affectionate expression on his face when he looked at Enkidu – had probably no other redeeming qualities. He was incontestably used to always having his own way.

Well, he wasn’t going to get away with this kind of behaviour.

She narrowed her green eyes and held his gaze firmly, making him raise an eyebrow at her audacity.

“This is a very strange apology, considering that there isn’t an apology in it.”

His other eyebrow rose as well at her words; she could see the aloofness in his expression.

“And there won’t be one,” he answered to her implicit question, his tone indifferent. “I have no choice but to leave my son under your care, and as long as I know that he is looked after well, I will have no complaints to make. But doing your job well should be a fact, not something for which any of you is worthy of gratitude, respect or even just acknowledgement.”

Arturia couldn’t help being shocked by his condescending speech, but she hid her reaction as fast as she could, before replying, with a wry, tight smile, “Then why are you actually having a conversation with me, if you don’t consider me worthy of acknowledgement?”

Very coldly, his crimson eyes boring into her soul, he shot back, “Don’t flatter yourself. This isn’t a conversation.”

She stared back at him, not afraid of his arrogance.

“And why? Just because you say so?” she challenged him, tone cutting, and then she stood up. She wasn’t tall, but she had a presence on her that made it hard to dismiss her, as he was doubtlessly going to do.

“You are ridiculously absurd,” she bluntly spoke her mind to him, eyes flashing with the contempt she didn’t bother holding back. “Your arrogance will only make Enkidu suffer.”

She walked away from him, taking the firm resolution to pointedly ignore the presence of this conceited jerk from now on.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Like a bright music reaching beyond the world~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Gilgamesh would never have admitted it, but it took that woman’s scathing words to make him look at her in a completely different light.

Their first meeting, having been when he had believed her to have made his son cry, had certainly not been the best way to be introduced. To be honest, once he had made sure that Enkidu was fine, he had not given much thought to the woman he had mistreated, and it would have probably remained that way, if his son hadn’t kept bringing up her name every now and then.

Occasionally, Enkidu pointed out the fact that some of the caretakers appeared to give false smiles – not that that surprised Gilgamesh – but he also mentioned that Arturia and the woman who was head of the structure, Irisviel, were always genuine. And since Enkidu’s observation skills were very sharp, even if he was a toddler, his words were not to be dismissed.

Indeed, from the little he could glimpse of her, Gilgamesh concluded that she was a rather odd woman. Her appearance was not particularly striking, and she was never eccentric, but he couldn’t call her plain either; his son had said once that she didn’t smile, and he had noticed the strictness in her features as well.

However, while she was an unsmiling and not necessarily warm person, from what he was able to see he was forced to conclude that she was deeply caring. She took the job seriously and, as was easy to notice, she took _the kids_ seriously as well, and that was something that made them like her and actually act more maturely in her presence.

She was really strange. Wanting to find out more about her despite himself, Gilgamesh found himself observing her from a distance very often, and that made him take notice of a golden ring on her left hand. It was obviously a wedding band, and it was a rather new one, which meant she had not been married for long.

He had to rigidly control his expression from contorting into a frown when he realized the direction of his thoughts. What did her personal life and her relationships matter? Why was he wasting time in thinking about such things?

It really didn’t help that every time he managed to catch a glimpse of her – she was deliberately ignoring him as much as possible – his gaze roamed all over her face, studying small changes in her expression that were caused by the different people she addressed, and particularly the look in her eyes, which usually betrayed what she was feeling.

Yet right after taking in her expressions, his own eyes would usually fall on her left hand, and more than once, he fleetingly wondered what kind of person this woman could be married to.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Your life is playing the music of love~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

For once, Arturia had a moment to breathe; she had had two exams the past week and she was extremely tired. There were less children than usual because of a light form of flu, and Irisviel had told her to rest and just watch as she and the other caretakers played Blind Man’s Bluff with the children until the parents came to pick them up. Since it was evening, they were going to be there soon after all.

Or, as she found out, one was _already_ there.

“Aren’t baby-sitters supposed to always be with the children?”

She turned her head slightly, but she had already recognized Gilgamesh’s voice as he approached her. In spite of his scathing words, his tone wasn’t hostile and it actually seemed as if he was asking her a normal question, not laced with arrogance as she would have expected. It was obvious, however, that he wasn’t any less demanding than usual: he would not tolerate being ignored.

All the other caretakers were occupied, she was alone with him and he was _Enkidu_ ’s father; while Gilgamesh appeared to be a person who didn’t care about anything or anyone – except his son – Enkidu loved him very much, and that meant that he had to have some acceptable traits.

Now that she thought about it, the boy never mentioned his mother; briefly, as she wondered what kind of woman she might be, she also wondered if Gilgamesh was divorced, as was entirely possible. After all, no matter how much Enkidu loved his father, who could _stand_ to be together with someone like him? To put it kindly, he was a very _odd_ man.

But she was letting her thoughts wander off. He had asked her a question, and was still waiting for an answer.

Carefully, giving her tone as detached a note as possible, she replied, “I’m not a baby-sitter, but I _am_ keeping an eye on the children.”

She didn’t look at him as she said so, but she felt his eyes on her nonetheless.

She was surprised when she heard the amusement in his voice as he immediately replied, showing that he was familiar with what she meant, “Even if it’s only a part-time job, when you are here you are indeed a baby-sitter.”

This time she did face him, meeting the haughty look in his eyes as he continued, “What are you aiming to be, since you seem to be focusing on studies?”

Her eyebrows would have risen at his forward question, had she not decided to ignore his shamelessness and react as impassably as she could. Which included giving him an answer though.

She smiled, rather dryly. “A lawyer.”

He stared at her before heaving a small chuckle, as dry as her smile.

“That has very little to do with children, and if you like children, the law isn’t your field.”

Arturia shrugged; she had expected such a remark from him, and she had to be careful not to make him believe that she was working at the day-care for the wrong reasons.

“I don’t dislike children,” she corrected him, then adding, to make sure he didn’t get a mistaken impression, “and when they are placed under my care, I enjoy being with them and making sure nothing happens to them. The other caretakers are nice people, and I need an income.”

While she congratulated herself on keeping such a firm tone in telling him about that, she questioned _why_ she was telling such personal things to this complete stranger at the same time.

His snort of derisiveness wasn’t lost on her.

“Playing nanny before going for a career in the law isn’t a very smart addition to your résumé,” he remarked, accurately in truth, but with obvious scorn in his tone.

Arturia did feel the slight, but she refused to be intimidated, and held his gaze steadfastly.

“Perhaps,” she acknowledged. “Yet I don’t believe you have much room to look down on me, since through this job I’m the one looking after your own son.”

She expected him to be taken aback, but instead his eyes flashed in satisfaction and she suddenly realized what had just happened. He had said something that would push her buttons on purpose, to see if she was capable of replying or took the insult without fighting back.

She frowned, puzzled. She certainly hadn’t been mistaken when she had labelled him as _odd_!

However, a moment later Irisviel called her because they were about to wrap up the day, therefore she immediately left Gilgamesh’s side and went to put everything back in order, instructing the children on how to help out. In the midst of this, after dutifully following the rules and cleaning up, Enkidu extended his hands towards her and requested to be taken up in her arms. He believed his father to be late in picking him up, and therefore wanted to be able to keep Arturia all to himself in the meantime.

Arturia agreed to carry him out of the room, but also informed him that his father had already arrived. Enkidu’s excitement was palpable, and he immediately waved his hand at Gilgamesh as soon as he noticed him.

She was slightly surprised when, before leaning towards his father, Enkidu gave her a quick hug, and then snuggled into Gilgamesh’s waiting arms.

“Goodbye, see you tomorrow, Arturia!” he chirped happily, and she felt her lips making a strange, unfamiliar motion, as if they wanted to tilt upwards but were too unused to it to be able to complete the movement.

And noticing the boy’s father’s eyes on her, she didn’t feel like giving in to the rather infrequent impulse of wanting to smile.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~The course of the dream surely sends us off~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Gilgamesh sent his most sneering glare to the white-haired woman standing in front of him, who looked incredibly uncomfortable and obviously struggled not to fidget.

“That is none of your business,” he icily told her, and Irisviel nodded in defeat, walking away from him.

Arturia had observed the scene from afar, and wondered what it could have been about. Seeing that Irisviel was on the verge of tears, she quickly approached her, taking her arm and guiding her to a slightly more secluded room in the dining area, and asked her what had happened.

Irisviel explained that, since it was soon to be Mother’s Day, she had meant to ask Gilgamesh about his wife – Enkidu’s mother – to make sure that the occasion would not affect the toddler in a negative way; but she had apparently said something wrong, because he had been harsh and dismissive.

Arturia had to refrain herself from shaking her head. Irisviel was a very, very kind-hearted person but, while her intentions were nice, she had underestimated the challenge of Gilgamesh’s contemptuous character and incautiously provoked his wrath. The blonde woman comforted her briefly, before suggesting herself as the one to go speak with Enkidu’s father because, even if he had dismissed her, Irisviel had a point about the upcoming celebration, and they needed to address him on that eventually anyway.

Seeing her walk towards him, a smirk appeared on Gilgamesh’s face and his crimson eyes gleamed in something she would have recognized as delight, had she not been so focused on her task. She was going to question him with a direct attack.

“To avoid turning Mother’s Day celebration into a burden, we must ask you this. What happened to Enkidu’s mother?”

Every trace of amusement and teasing disappeared from his face, and he suddenly turned so serious, his expression clouding over, that it almost made her take a step back. Almost.

Perhaps such a direct approach hadn’t been her finest idea, but what she had said was true – the caretakers needed to know.

She wondered if she should however apologize for the bluntness of her words, but before she could make up her mind on it, he replied, his tone cold and oddly disinterested, “Enkidu’s biological parents died in a car crash.”

Eyes widening, she could do nothing but stare at him. _Oh_.

Guessing that a no-small amount of questions was going to come up, he went on, a shadow of stern impatience appearing on his features, “They were both drunk when that happened. His father was a man of no redeeming qualities,” seeing her expression, he only snorted, clarifying, “aside from the fact that he was my brother.”

 _Oh_ , was all Arturia could think, once again. Then Enkidu… was actually his nephew and not his son, even though from what she had seen, it was likely that he had legally adopted him.

Gilgamesh’s crimson eyes held something dark in them as he sent her a very menacing glance.

“Enkidu knows better than me that his real parents were not people of sense, however he luckily doesn’t remember much of them. They did not care about him,” he concluded, the finality in his tone making it clear that he was not going to add anything more on the subject.

Arturia was still too shocked to say a word, and she was also flabbergasted about the fact that he had explicitly told her so much in the first place.

“Enkidu will not be bothered by Mother’s Day,” Gilgamesh’s voice broke through her thoughts, making it understood that she and the caretakers shouldn’t bother fretting nor should they give too much importance to what she had just learned.

But she couldn’t help it – her thoughts were still on what she had just been told by him about the boy’s family. If Enkidu’s parents had neglected their child and Gilgamesh had been the only one to step in, it was actually something very human of him to do, and it would explain Enkidu’s limitless affection for him.

He took her aback by suddenly pointing out, out of the blue, “You’re wearing a ring.”

Disoriented by that abrupt, random sentence, she blinked and then looked at her left ring finger, and instinctively clenched her hand. She was not going to talk about that subject, and if he expected her to, he was going to be disappointed.

Besides, while his questioning tone was very noticeable, it had _not_ been a question, and she could interpret it as a simple statement.

However, she was spared the trouble of having to free herself from his suddenly heavier presence by Irisviel’s voice, who needed her help in moving a small piece of furniture that was causing problems for the children’s playing.

She jumped on that chance with barely concealed relief.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Towards the endless horizon~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Gilgamesh watched the small, blonde woman as she was called away to move something heavy across the room, displaying remarkable strength while remaining completely straight-faced about the ordeal.

He pondered over what had possessed him to tell her about his son’s adoption, especially right after coldly dismissing the head caretaker who had asked him the exact same question, albeit in a more subdued way. That she was worthier that the others was something he had already established a way back, because of her attentiveness towards the children without spoiling them yet also without being harsh, but he still couldn’t explain his spontaneous conversation with her.

From what Enkidu had mentioned, Gilgamesh knew that she didn’t work at the day-care every day of the week, but she came by often even when it wasn’t her shift, to at least spend a few minutes with the children.

She was competent and serious about what she did, that was something he could acknowledge.

And he truly wanted to find out more about her. When he had brought up her ring, she had very visibly gone rigid and not uttered a word, before being called away from his presence by that white-haired woman, and that had rendered him even more interested.

He _would_ find out more, whether she liked it or not.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~A bright music, until it reaches the sky~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Arturia fought with everything she had to keep her expression composed, while inside she was fuming.

It wasn’t Irisviel’s fault. Ironically enough, the white-haired woman was soon going to be on maternity leave and, since it was likely going to be a difficult birth, taking a few months free was to be expected. But she had appointed _Arturia_ as head of the day-care for the summer months, which meant that she was now in charge of everything – and had _responsibility_ over everything.

She had the time for it, because she had break from school as well, and that wasn’t what was making her fume. The parents’ behaviour was what irritated her beyond measure.

Since it was summer, many of the children’s parents had requested for the day-care to take them to the beach for a day or two, to have them play near the sea.

Arturia was resolutely against such an idea; the children were many and were very young, it was far too dangerous, especially considering that many of the caretakers – herself included – didn’t know how to swim.

But the parents had not cared at all about the extreme danger they were putting their children in – not even after she had pointed out all these concrete obstacles – and had been insisting on a trip to the beach for several days in a row.

And Arturia had had no choice but to give in in the end, especially since Irisviel had let her know that she thought it was a marvellous idea, something that had only exasperated the blonde woman further.

“Very well then,” she finally gritted out through clenched teeth, her frustration at their carelessness almost making it impossible for her to speak intelligibly. “We will go on a trip to the sea. However,” and all the parents had frozen at her strangely neutral tone, “only children _together_ with at least one of their parents will be allowed to participate. This is my final word.”

She had hoped that such a rule would discourage them from participating and the idea would eventually be dropped; but on the contrary, they had complied with her request – and they were all going on the trip _tomorrow_.

And Arturia was furious, because it meant putting the children in danger for the whole day and having to worry for the entirety of it.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Plays the music of the love we believed in~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

To her immense relief, the parents kept their word and stayed close to their children, making sure that every toddler had at least one person taking care of them. Arturia chose for herself a spot slightly secluded from everyone else, on a small ground a bit higher than the rest of the beach, from which she could keep an eye on everything.

As the day went by without incident, she started to relax a little, but remained vigil nonetheless.

Several hours later, as the children were playing in the sand with the caretakers – safely away from the now somewhat agitated waters of the sea – most parents either joined in or simply watched. However, while her eyes swept over everyone, she noticed that one particular parent was missing, and Arturia found out where he had gone when a voice spoke behind her, startling her and making her turn around abruptly.

“They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

She had recognized his voice before seeing him, and indeed it was Gilgamesh, wearing casual summer clothes, hands in his pockets and smirk in place. After allowing herself a moment to take in his shamelessly attractive appearance – but no more than a moment, she sternly told herself – she brought her eyes back on the playing children, giving him just a simple, noncommittal shrug as an answer to his remark.

She felt him come closer and stand in front of her, and had to make an effort not to jump at the suddenness of his movements.

“Please move away from my field of vision. I can’t see the children if you stand there,” she flatly informed him, even if she knew that her tone wasn’t completely void of the edge she was trying to suppress.

He stared at her in silence for a while, and then, with plain reluctance, moved to stand at her side. She wasn’t feeling much comforted by still having him so close, but it was better than having him in front of her. She determinedly kept her eyes on the children.

Suddenly, he spoke again, and his words, while uttered in a very flippant tone, made her tense up.

“Where is your spouse?”

She couldn’t help sending a rapid glance in his direction, but immediately looked away again.

“I beg your pardon?” she questioned, hoping that her frosty tone would make him desist from insisting on the subject.

But she should have known that it was not going to deter him, and he indicated her left hand, specifically the golden ring shining on her finger, making the meaning of his question clear – as if there was even need for such a thing.

“I already asked you about the ring some time ago,” he pointed out, but she merely lifted an eyebrow.

“You didn’t ask anything, you made a statement. What was I supposed to do, make a comment on it? Please refrain from saying such absurdities.”

He studied her, very carefully, and even if she obstinately kept her eyes on the children, she could feel his own eyes burning on her. He was a persistent person, she knew he wasn’t going to give up easily.

“This is a day dedicated to family and enjoyment. Most of the other caretakers are here with their families as well. You have a ring and therefore are married, but your partner didn’t come with you.”

She twirled around, meeting his penetrant gaze with an unreadable one of her own.

“I prefer to keep my work and my personal life separated,” she replied tightly, holding her temper in check. He was prodding far too much, and she didn’t owe him any kind of explanation.

But her answer was far from enough to make him drop the subject, and his crimson eyes sharpened.

“I find this rather interesting. You don’t look like a person who has found a significant other and is happy. You don’t seem to be in a relationship in which you receive love, nor do you seem to _be_ in love–”

“ _Enough_.” Her steely voice cut him off harshly. “Be so kind as to _mind your own business_.”

However, this was Gilgamesh; he was not feeling inclined to be kind, nor did the notion concern him in the least. In fact, he smirked, lifting his chin slightly as he appraised her.

“As usual, I’ve guessed the truth.”

After a violent glare, which clearly conveyed her strong desire for nothing better than being able to punch him in the face, Arturia stormed away.

He had gone too far with his words. It didn’t matter that he was Enkidu’s father; she was not going to stand anything from him anymore.

Thankfully, she was going to be able to keep an eye on the children from other spots as well.

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Fill our world with love~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

Arturia took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

One of the children had thought it fun to go see the sea in the twilight; there would have been nothing wrong with it, if it had not been from up close and escaping his parents’ rather lax control. He had not seen a large wave and had therefore been swept up by the tide, and would have certainly been brought up in the open sea and drowned if Gilgamesh hadn’t been near the sea as well, observing Enkidu build a sandcastle, and promptly caught the reckless toddler.

Of course his parents had been in hysterics, and it had taken Arturia – who had immediately rushed over as well – more time to calm _them_ than check over the child, who had only gotten a slight scare but was now solely focused on following Gilgamesh around with adoring eyes.

Finally, when the situation had been brought back to normal and the children had gone back to jumping the rope together in the sand while the parents cheered them on, Arturia quietly walked away a little, finding a silent spot of her own, and attempted to calm her heartbeat.

As soon as she had seen the wave swallow the little boy, she had felt her heart stop in her chest in terror; none of the children knew how to swim yet, and she herself didn’t know how to either. Not only had she been in utter panic about the child’s life, she had also keenly felt her hopelessness in the situation.

Had she arrived in time, what would she have been able to do?

She needed a few minutes to recollect herself, but it took her much less to resolutely decide that never again would she let herself be swayed by the wishes of the parents or Irisviel – no matter how well intentioned they may be – if they went against her better judgement.

She almost screamed when suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder, but she recognized the person as soon as she turned around, and managed to check herself before reacting on instinct.

“Do you still intend to be a recluse today?”

Gilgamesh’s tone was rather condescending but, even if she felt a burst of anger inside herself, she quenched it, knowing that at least on this occasion, he was pointing out the truth.

It was also quite difficult to show anger towards the person who had saved the child’s life.

Therefore, she chose not to reply, letting silence speak for her. He seemed to read her desire for quietness and, while he smirked, surprisingly he didn’t go against it.

Arturia looked away, in the direction of the ocean, where they had almost lost a child today. She averted her eyes from it, lowering her gaze, and in doing so noticed the last rays of the sunset that made something glint on her finger.

She briefly considered. Gilgamesh wasn’t a person who enjoyed gossip; he rarely interacted with other parents, and had shown interest in conversation only with her. He certainly wasn’t courteous in them, but he did give her his undivided attention and, while his manners were arrogant, they were obviously his normal way of acting and, oddly enough, not meant as a personal insult.

All he had asked her earlier was a question about her personal life.

Slowly, in a monochord tone, she carefully declared, “I’m not married.”

She immediately felt his eyes landing on her, fixating her with his insistent stare, and she turned to meet it, distractedly brushing her fingers over the golden band.

“It’s probably foolish, but Irisviel recommended wearing a ring to have more authority. Parents feel reassured when they believe the caretakers who look after their children to have a family of their own, and I can’t exactly decide on the way parents reason.”

Her tone was still detached, but her eyes betrayed how much she despised such a thing and, to her utmost surprise, she heard him _chuckle_.

“I see that there’s more to you than I previously believed,” and such an unusual sentence made her raise an eyebrow, but his smirk became more pronounced as he added, “You’re a fool for bothering so much about the opinion of others.”

Her only reply was an impassive yet fierce glare at his openly offensive words. She shouldn’t have told him anything.

He heaved a sigh, palpably annoyed. “And yet you invest all this energy just for the sake of the kids, and that… cannot be dismissed as easily.” He sighed again, and his usual smirk began to creep back on his face. “At the same time, it’s very agreeable to find out that you are in no relationship at the moment.”

His smirk was predatory, but Arturia was not catching his meaning – or rather, she was plainly refusing to – therefore he added, narrowing his eyes for a moment, “Unless, of course, you lied about the ring.”

She narrowed her eyes at him as well, outraged, and cuttingly replied, “I do not lie, and I am nobody’s wife.”

Gilgamesh grinned widely, something gleaming in his eyes, an emotion Arturia was unable to recognize or even name.

“That’s perfect, as you could be _my_ wife.”

Arturia heard the words, but didn’t register them until a few seconds later and, when their meaning fully hit her, she blinked, twice, and stared at him.

Then she burst out laughing.

He didn’t seem fazed by her mirth – as she obviously considered him to be joking – and casually added, “You can _pretend_ to be blind, but that doesn’t mean you _are_. You have been fully aware of my interest; therefore a proposal shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

She stopped laughing and gave him a dirty look, forgetting the absurdity of the situation for a moment.

“The fact that the man who yelled at me due to a misunderstanding and never apologized for it is now _proposing_ to me does indeed feel slightly unbelievable.”

“If an apology is all you need to be convinced of the truthfulness of my words, which you can’t fail to recognize anyway,” he smoothly interjected, “then I apologize.”

Her mouth dropping open in shock, she gaped at him, and he took a step forward, grasping one of her hands in his and bringing it up, brushing his lips against it briefly, something akin to a smile making a fleeting appearance on his face.

“You have all the time you want to say yes,” he calmly told her, squeezing her hand firmly but without coercing it to remain in his hold, and when she didn’t retract it, his eyes flashed. “There are very few occasions for which I _can_ be a patient man, but waiting for your decision about marriage is most certainly one of them.”

…

…~oOo~…

…

…

…~oOo~…

…

_~Let me hear your melody~_

…

…~oOo~…

…

It was only two full years later that, after graduating and starting to work, Arturia grudgingly agreed to let little Enkidu happily walk her down the aisle as she got married to his father.

This time, her ring was going to be a real one.

…

…~oOo~…

…

THE END

 


End file.
